Behavioural evidence for polarisation vision in stomatopods reveals a potential channel for communication

Abstract

Polarisation sensitivity (PS) – the ability to detect the orientation of polarised light – occurs in a wide variety of invertebrates [1,2] and vertebrates [3–5], many of which are marine species [1]. Of these, the crustacea are particularly well documented in terms of their structural [6] and neural [7,8] adaptations for PS. The few behavioural studies conducted on crustaceans demonstrate orientation to, or local navigation with, polarised sky patterns [9]. Aside from this, the function of PS in crustaceans, and indeed in most animals, remains obscure. Where PS can be shown to allow perception of polarised light as a ‘special sensory quality’ [1], separate from intensity or colour, it has been termed polarisation vision (PV). Here, within the remarkable visual system of the stomatopod crustaceans (mantis shrimps) [10], we provide the first demonstration of PV in the crustacea and the first convincing evidence for learning the orientation of polarised light in any animal. Using new polarimetric [11] and photographic methods to examine stomatopods, we found striking patterns of polarisation on their antennae and telson, suggesting that one function of PV in stomatopods may be communication [12]. PV may also be used for tasks such as navigation [5,9,13], location of reflective water surfaces [14] and contrast enhancement [1,15–18]. It is possible that the stomatopod PV system also contributes to some of these functions.